It’s Literally Wednesday: This Day in History

100 Years Ago Today – William Burroughs, Beat Generation writer (Naked Lunch), was born in St. Louis, Missouri.

50 Years Ago Today – The Beatles landed at London Airport (to be renamed “London Heathrow Airport” in 1966) following a residency at Paris’ Olympia Theatre. During a brief news conference the boys were asked about their impending maiden trip to the United States two days hence: Q: I must tell you, by the way, that Detroit University have got a ‘Stamp Out The Beatles’ movement. … They think your haircuts are un-American. John: Well, it was very observant of them because we aren’t American, actually. Paul: True, that.

Their first record to make the U.S. charts, “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” had its Billboard debut on January 18th and reached #1 on February 1st. America was ready. On Sunday, February 9th, the Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, watched by a record breaking 73 million people — 45% of homes with televisions were tuned in.

Including ours. After watching, my father proclaimed that “they’ll never last.” My preadolescent self, happy to latch on to all things that my parents’ generation hated, had a differing opinion — though even I recognized their music as trivial. (This would change by the end of 1965 with the release of “We Can Work It Out” b/w “Day Tripper” and “Rubber Soul.”)

For those wanting a feel for the early Beatles, I have two recommendations:

Tune In: The Beatles: All These Years, Volume 1 [of a trilogy] by Mark Lewisohn – It takes over 800 pages just to get to the end of 1962, but this beast of a book is the definitive history with a deep sense of place: post-war Liverpool.

“Live at the BBC” and “On Air: Live at the BBC, Volume 2” – These recordings give the listener a hint of just how good a cover band the Beatles were and why audiences in Liverpool and Hamburg were so excited: great harmonies and George Harrison’s rockabilly guitar truly stand out.

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5 thoughts on “It’s Literally Wednesday: This Day in History”

Incredible that The Beatles tunes are 50 years old and still sound so fresh and relevant. For the past two weeks I’ve played nothing but Beatles music in my car for my two small kids and they are loving it. We play all sorts of music for them, but this to me is the base. Indoctrinate baby!